Presently there is no method or service on the market for testing tips for pipettes. Today, tip manufacturers do not batch test their tips on pipettes under carefully controlled conditions such as one would find in, e.g., a UKAS, FINAS, DANAK, NOKAS or OFRAC accredited calibration laboratory.
Much credence is given to the conformity testing and calibration of pipettes. Often the pipetting device is seen in isolation from, perhaps, the two most important variable factors involved in the pipette testing process: the operator and the disposable tip.
With regards to tips, UKAS and the ISO8655 standard treat the pipette and tip as a single device. The certificate obtained in the calibration of a pipette details which type of tip the results were achieved with. This means that this part of the process can be manipulated such that it is not the pipette that is tested but rather the tip being used.
In essence, the question over the accuracy, precision and performance of tips is not one that most pipette users are aware of. Users of pipettes tend towards the assumption that if the tip fits it will work as it should and that any inaccuracy in what they are doing is caused by the pipette as a whole.